2013: What's in Store for the New Year

It's been nearly two months since Ironman Arizona.  A quick rundown of the goings-ons:

The rest of November was all about rest.  Some physical therapy through December and then came the holiday craziness.  Not only the usual holiday parties, family gatherings and gift shopping, but also an excessively busy work schedule and demands.  Now that the new year is upon us, it is once again time to re-assess plans.

After Ironman Arizona, a frequent question folks had for me was what I am planning on doing next.  Another Ironman?  Something completely different?  The answer was always the same - I have no idea.

Now that I had some time to reflect and go through a number of options, it's still not crystal clear, but I have a better plan for this year.

Iron Sherpa's goals for 2013 includes running a half-marathon and a full marathon.  She's already done the half-marathon (so did I, race report coming soon) and is signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon coming up in March.  My role in all of this is to help train her up for these races, to be part coach and part sherpa.  Doing this for Iron Sherpa will undoubtedly help me maintain my fitness level as well, which has become harder during the winter time in part due to the weather, but also due to not having an Ironman scare me into training regularly.

Beyond that, I am hoping to find a sprint triathlon and an olympic triathlon to do locally, just for fun but also to keep up the training and fitness.  On top of that, my dragon boat team will be trying to qualify for Club Crew Championships this year, in order to compete in Italy next year.  So I will be focusing much of my fitness on accomplishing that.

The injury is still affecting my shoulder, I can't paddle with the team or do much strength training.  Still a bummer, but I can feel that it is slowly getting better.  A month without physical therapy has made it a bit stiff again, though this morning's session really helped.  I have "homework" exercises to do too.

But I think that summarizes my plan for the year.  Help train Iron Sherpa for her marathon.  Focus on dragon boating. A sprint and olympic triathlon.